Posts Tagged ‘academy of okinawan karate’

Koshiki Match
Originally uploaded by MikeOliveri
The Academy of Okinawan Karate held its Winter Tournament on Saturday. I only managed to capture a few pictures and videos, but I sat on a lot of panels as a judge. That was an interesting experience in itself.
I’m waiting for YouTube to process the first video and I have a [...]

I’ve finally managed to put the camera to use a little more in the last month or so. Most of it has been event or family photography rather than the creative photography I’ve been intending to do all year, but at least I got out and put my rig to use.
Sometimes my 50mm prime lens [...]

I finished my sparring requirements this evening and I am officially a Nikyu, or second-degree brown belt, in Shuri-ryu Karate.
Next week I’ll start learning a new kata called Bassai Dai, and I’ll be going through several more requirements for my next few stripes as I work toward Ikkyu, or first-degree brown belt. My goal is [...]

Karate has been quite eventful this summer. Every time I tie on my belt and bow onto the mat, it amazes me how far I’ve come in the two years I’ve been studying.
Earlier this month, my sensei named me Senpai of our dojo. This is loosely translated as senior student, but when used as a [...]

Language is a funny thing, particularly when it’s translated through foreign understanding.
I learned a new kata on Saturday called Shudoso. It was developed by Robert Trias, the founder of Shuri-ryu, the style of karate I study. It’s short and sweet, but I was already losing the proper ending, so I hit Google to see what [...]

I survived graduation night.
I got recruited to help out, so I spent most of the night lining up the new graduates before they went out onto the mat and helping tie their new belts onto them. This worked out well because it kept me busy rather than sweating my own pending performance. It proved an [...]

Miss Walker Go Pei Sho
Originally uploaded by MikeOliveri.

The Academy of Okinawan Karate hosted their winter tournament last Saturday, and I took several pictures, most of which you can find here.
Once again, I just took pictures and did not compete. I’m just not a big fan of tournaments, or of paying for the privilege of looking [...]

After the rugrats woke me by pounding on my kidneys, I looked outside and saw snow. A few inches of snow, in fact, covering the ground and streets. No wonder they were so excited. I took them outside while I shoveled, then we had a snowball fight. I continued an unofficial Oliveri tradition by blasting [...]

I now get to learn two new kata before obtaining my next belt. No pressure, but there is a lot of tension.
Dynamic tension, to be exact.
Sanchin is a tension kata, and as such running it is very different from running a “normal” kata like my other new one, Empi Sho. Where we typically put our [...]

One wouldn’t think CPR would be part of a karate class, but this weekend the Academy of Okinawan Karate certified its SWAT team members in CPR. One of our black belts, Mrs. Denise Miller (everyone say hi, as she’s out there reading), works as a nurse for a living, and she led the class.
It’s been [...]